This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The tools used for high throughput DNA sequencing, comparative genomics, SNP analysis, and the analysis of gene expression have become nearly indispensable in contemporary biomedical research. As a result of our current COBRE support we have been able to establish a high throughput multi-user DNA Sequence Analysis Core facility;the only one at the University of Idaho. This facility has greatly benefited both COBRE researchers and the larger biomedical research community at the University. In order for the University to remain competitive in biomedical research, and for COBRE funded researchers to achieve the aims of the proposed research projects, we must not only maintain the current capabilities of the core, but also add the capability to rapidly do whole genome re-sequencing and gene expression analysis. The existing DNA Sequence Analysis Core Facility provides researchers access to the instruments, equipment, and facilities needed for the analysis of nucleic acid sequences. The Core Facility occupies 850 sq. feet of newly renovated space in Life Sciences South. It is equipped with the major instrumentation and computational resources described below, as well as wet lab benches, biosafety cabinets, thermocyclers, centrifuges, microfuges, freezers, refrigerators, and other minor equipment needed for sample preparation. A portion of the laboratory is dedicated to data analysis and bioinformatics and has high-end workstations and printers that are linked via the internet to the software and hardware resources of the Bioinformatics Core Facility on campus. A technician oversees operation and maintenance of the instruments, and provides instruction, guidance, and trouble-shooting assistance to users of the facility. The major instrumentation now available in the Core Facility includes the following: + Applied Biosystems PRISM 3730 DNA Analyzer. The ABI 3730 is a 48 capillary system that can accommodate two array lengths, 50cm and 36cm for high-throughput DNA sequencing. + Applied Biosystems PRISM 3100 DNA Analyzer. The ABI 3100 is a fluorescence based DNA analysis system in which 16 electrophoresis capillaries are operated in parallel. The instrument is almost exclusively used for DNA fragment analysis. + Qiagen BioRobot 3000. The Qiagen BioRobot allows for high throughput sample processing using a 96-well microplate format. The customized workstation is equipped with a 4 microplate shaker system for efficient cell resuspension or lysis, two vacuum manifolds for simultaneous purification of 192 samples, a high-speed pipetting system with four dilutor units, one cooling and heating Peltier system for performing heat-dependent steps, and a T-grip robotic arm for moving items such as microplates between locations on the worktable. + Two Macintosh Power Mac G5 computers both of which have dual 2GHz processors with 512kb of cache per processor. For memory and storage each computer is equipped with 1GB of RAM, two 250GB hard drives and a Pioneer DVD-RW/CD-RW disc drive. This computer is connected to the high speed IBEST network with an internal gigabit Ethernet network card. + One Macintosh Mac Pro computer with two quad-Core Intel Xeon 2.8GHz processors with 12MB of cache per processor. For memory and storage it is equipped with 4GB of RAM, two 500GB hard drives and a Pioneer DVD-RW/DVR disc drive. This computer is connected to the high speed IBEST network with an internal gigabit Ethernet network card. + One Dell Computer with a Intel Pentium 4 CPU 1.6GHz processor with 256kb of cache For memory and storage it is equipped with 256MB of RAM, a 76GB hard drive and a CD-R/CD-RW disc drive. It is setup to run Ubuntu Linux and is also connected to the high speed IBEST network. + One Dell Computer with an Intel Pentium 4 3GHz processor. For memory and storage it is equipped with 1GB of RAM, a 300GB hard Drive and a DVD/CD-R disc drive. It is currently running Windows XP and is also connected to the high speed IBEST network.